Posted by Ray Pritchard on 5.24.09 in Congregational Singing, Devotional, Preaching
Here’s a great missionary hymn (one source called it one of the greatest ever written) by Isaac Watts (1674-1748). I should add that it is entirely new to me. Watts wrote many hymns, most notably “Joy to the World,” “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” On this Lord’…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 11.1.08 in Congregational Singing, Devotional, Video
Here is a video of one of my favorite hymns, “For All the Saints.” It comes from a worship service at Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia. I love the video because it’s a real church service, not a concert performance. I love the soaring melody that goes with this triumphant. When I hear it sung (which, sad t…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.13.08 in Congregational Singing
Recently I’ve enjoyed singing “Mighty to Save.” Here’s a version from Hillsong in Australia. Listen and sing along and let your heart be uplifted as you worship the Lord.…
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.13.07 in Church Trends, Congregational Singing
So what’s happening in the “worship wars” these days? Terry Mattingly provides one answer in a column called FM Radio Reality in Church, which describes how one megachurch in California manages to put together three “radically different services” each week. Conventional wisdom suggests that nothing divides a church mo …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 3.30.07 in Congregational Singing
In 1742 Charles Wesley wrote a hymn called Arise, My Soul, Arise. Though greatly used by God in past generations, it is not often sung today, and I daresay that most under 30 have never heard it. For that matter, I can only remember singing it once or twice. I thought I would post the words to this powerful hymn to encourag …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 12.31.06 in Congregational Singing
A few months ago I wrote about my ten favorite hymns. Later I added another entry on my top ten gospel songs. At the time, I promised that I would eventually write about my favorite contemporary worship songs. I intended to get around to it earlier but kept putting it off until Steve Boisse reminded me a few days ago. So on …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 10.14.06 in Churches, Congregational Singing, Theology
Consider this a follow-up to my earlier entry on My Perfect Church. After thinking about that list some more, I wanted to pare it down to a few succinct principles that could be easily memorized, I was surprised by the first thing that came to mind, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind so I left it in first place. My …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 9.17.06 in Congregational Singing, Personal
A few weeks ago I wrote about my ten favorite hymns. Today I’m offering this list of my ten favorite gospel songs. Two quick notes are in order. First, I find it difficult to define what I mean by “gospel song” so I won’t even try, and I’m not where exactly how to demarcate between a hymn and a gospel song …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 8.13.06 in Congregational Singing
During my recent sabbatical from blog-writing, I started thinking about the hymns that mean the most to me at this point in my spiritual journey. The more I pondered it, the more I realized that certain hymns have become exceedingly precious and important to my soul. What follows is a list of my ten favorite hymns. It is no …
Posted by Ray Pritchard on 5.21.06 in Congregational Singing
Since this is Sunday, let me pose a question that has been rattling around in my head for the past few months. Whatever happened to congregational singing? In my travels to different churches, I have noticed that hearty congregational singing seems to be going out of style. I am choosing my words carefully here. By “hearty …
1 2 Next »